Thoughts:
I was asked about a week ago if I wanted to join the Chris Caffery band for a couple of songs at a performance this past Friday. It was actually only originally supposed to be the Savatage classic "Edge of Thorns", but the songs list grew a little bit as time went on. I had to meet the guys at the venue around 7:30, we set everything up, did a soundcheck, and then went across the street to a really cool bar/restaurant, where we had some delicious food which I didn't have to pay for, which is always good. When we returned to the venue, the first support band was nearing the end of their set, and as it turns out, Mike lepond from Symphony was actually playing bass for them! So, in addition to the other things I can say from this weekend, I can claim that a member of one of my favorite bands opened for me, which is a tad strange. Anyway, eventually we set up a bit and the other guys went on around 12:30 (yeah, I know, late), and did a pretty kickass bunch of Chris's own songs before some cover tunes (the other 3 guys have a cover band on the side). Eventually I was brought up on stage to play Chris's "Music Man" (which is actually a favorite of mine of his solo stuff), which I basically just sort of improvised, but it went pretty damn well. After that, we did Savatage's "Summer's Rain", which I have always loved, and the audience really loved it as well. Getting to start "Edge of Thorns", one of my favorite songs of all-time, by myself was incredible, and it was a ton of fun. Bassist Brian Gregory rocked out with me during the instrumental section, and the crowd went pretty nuts for this. Honestly this song might have been the most fun I've ever had on stage, including 50-ish shows with my own band. Chris did a pretty sweet guitar solo, and then asked if anyone in the audience wanted to sing his solo staple "Pisses Me Off", and I volunteered. I figured I knew the lyrics and could handle the vocals, so why not. It went really well. I threw in a ton of falsetto screams and Jon Oliva-isms which the crowd ate up, and it was just so much fun, and a great end to a really cool show. The guys and I hit it off so well musically and personally that I was asked to play the show the following night in Queens. See my other thread for that.
Pictures: